[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: Piano Provenance and Valuation")] Pianos can sell for millions of dollars, when the provenance is significant enough to increase its value well beyond what it would be worth as a musical instrument alone.[[31]](#cite_note-31)[[32]](#cite_note-32) When decisions need to be made in a court of law for a bankruptcy, or before a piano goes up for auction, or when an educational institution needs to establish a value for a deed of trust being established with the gift of a piano, then experts are usually hired to authenticate the piano's provenance. Piano provenance has emerged as a field of study with experts having college degrees in some specialty connected to the piano or to art combined with professional training and experience in the field. Most experts belong to some form of association. For example, Karen Earle Lile niece of [Tony Terran](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Terran "Tony Terran") and [Kendall Ross Bean](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall_Ross_Bean "Kendall Ross Bean"), members of the Preservations Artisans Guild,[[33]](#cite_note-33) were chosen [[34]](#cite_note-34) by [Mercersburg Academy](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercersburg_Academy "Mercersburg Academy") to research and authenticate the provenance of the [Lennon](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon "John Lennon")-[Ono](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono "Yoko Ono")-[Green](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams_Green "Samuel Adams Green")-[Warhol](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol "Andy Warhol") piano before it was put up for sale to fund a Deed of Trust by the Shaool Family to Mercersburg Academy for future student scholarships.[[35]](#cite_note-35) Because this piano was part of a famous lawsuit in 2000 and had extensive coverage as the "Lost Lennon Piano",[[36]](#cite_note-36) when provenance research done by Lile was revealed by the Alex Cooper Auctioneers to the public, the provenance became the subject of dozens of newspapers and magazines that picked up the story.[[37]](#cite_note-37)[[38]](#cite_note-38)[[39]](#cite_note-39) In the case of sculpture or art that are incorporated into the piano's cabinet, experts might be come from the field of [art valuation](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_valuation "Art valuation") and belong to an appraiser society such as the [American Society of Appraisers](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Appraisers "American Society of Appraisers") or the International Society of Appraisers.[[40]](#cite_note-40) Wines ----- [[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: Wines")] In transactions of old wine with the potential of [improving with age](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_of_wine "Storage of wine"), the issue of provenance has a large bearing on the assessment of the contents of a bottle, both in terms of quality and the risk of [wine fraud](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fraud "Wine fraud"). A documented history of [wine cellar](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_cellar "Wine cellar") conditions is valuable in estimating the quality of an older vintage due to the fragile nature of wine.[[41]](#cite_note-OCW-ageing-41) Recent technology developments have aided collectors in assessing the temperature and humidity history of the wine which are two key components in establishing perfect provenance. For example, there are devices available that rest inside the wood case and can be read through the wood by waving a smartphone equipped with a simple app. These devices track the conditions the case has been exposed to for the duration of the battery life, which can be as long as 15 years, and sends a graph and high/low readings to the smartphone user. This takes the trust issue out of the hands of the owner and gives it to a third party for verification.[*[citation needed](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")*] Science ------- [[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: Science")]

{
  "evidence_unit_id": "unit:49b82edf77de8e07e792:76089e264990dae429e7:1:b7fbc4df8d316f49c9bc",
  "artifact_id": "artifact:49b82edf77de8e07e792:6edc1142d1044e7186b5",
  "text": "[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=6 \"Edit section: Piano Provenance and Valuation\")]\n\nPianos can sell for millions of dollars, when the provenance is significant enough to increase its value well beyond what it would be worth as a musical instrument alone.[[31]](#cite_note-31)[[32]](#cite_note-32)\n\nWhen decisions need to be made in a court of law for a bankruptcy, or before a piano goes up for auction, or when an educational institution needs to establish a value for a deed of trust being established with the gift of a piano, then experts are usually hired to authenticate the piano's provenance.\n\nPiano provenance has emerged as a field of study with experts having college degrees in some specialty connected to the piano or to art combined with professional training and experience in the field.\n\nMost experts belong to some form of association. For example, Karen Earle Lile niece of [Tony Terran](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Terran \"Tony Terran\") and [Kendall Ross Bean](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall_Ross_Bean \"Kendall Ross Bean\"), members of the Preservations Artisans Guild,[[33]](#cite_note-33) were chosen [[34]](#cite_note-34) by [Mercersburg Academy](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercersburg_Academy \"Mercersburg Academy\") to research and authenticate the provenance of the [Lennon](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon \"John Lennon\")-[Ono](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono \"Yoko Ono\")-[Green](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams_Green \"Samuel Adams Green\")-[Warhol](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol \"Andy Warhol\") piano before it was put up for sale to fund a Deed of Trust by the Shaool Family to Mercersburg Academy for future student scholarships.[[35]](#cite_note-35) Because this piano was part of a famous lawsuit in 2000 and had extensive coverage as the \"Lost Lennon Piano\",[[36]](#cite_note-36) when provenance research done by Lile was revealed by the Alex Cooper Auctioneers to the public, the provenance became the subject of dozens of newspapers and magazines that picked up the story.[[37]](#cite_note-37)[[38]](#cite_note-38)[[39]](#cite_note-39)\n\nIn the case of sculpture or art that are incorporated into the piano's cabinet, experts might be come from the field of [art valuation](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_valuation \"Art valuation\") and belong to an appraiser society such as the [American Society of Appraisers](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Appraisers \"American Society of Appraisers\") or the International Society of Appraisers.[[40]](#cite_note-40)\n\nWines\n-----\n\n[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=7 \"Edit section: Wines\")]\n\nIn transactions of old wine with the potential of [improving with age](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_of_wine \"Storage of wine\"), the issue of provenance has a large bearing on the assessment of the contents of a bottle, both in terms of quality and the risk of [wine fraud](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fraud \"Wine fraud\"). A documented history of [wine cellar](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_cellar \"Wine cellar\") conditions is valuable in estimating the quality of an older vintage due to the fragile nature of wine.[[41]](#cite_note-OCW-ageing-41)\n\nRecent technology developments have aided collectors in assessing the temperature and humidity history of the wine which are two key components in establishing perfect provenance. For example, there are devices available that rest inside the wood case and can be read through the wood by waving a smartphone equipped with a simple app. These devices track the conditions the case has been exposed to for the duration of the battery life, which can be as long as 15 years, and sends a graph and high/low readings to the smartphone user. This takes the trust issue out of the hands of the owner and gives it to a third party for verification.[*[citation needed](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed \"Wikipedia:Citation needed\")*]\n\nScience\n-------\n\n[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Provenance&action=edit&section=8 \"Edit section: Science\")]",
  "access_class": "public",
  "heading": "Piano Provenance and Valuation",
  "observed_at": "2026-07-18T21:40:59.214Z",
  "state": "active"
}